HARRY POTTER | ONESHOTS |

9- (Young) Remus Lupin

For the past few nights, Remus has been on edge due to the upcoming full moon and has been unable to sleep but so far he's put up with it and has been sneaking downstairs during the early hours of the morning to the Gryffindor common room to be alone with his homework. It isn't uncommon for him to be restless and need to be alone, away from his friends, even if for just a moment.

This is the fourth night in a row that he's been fed up with staring at the ceiling, so he, once again, quietly slips out of bed, grabs his bag full of schoolwork and supplies, then sneaks out of the room and down the stairs as quietly as he possibly can be. He's gotten very good at sneaking down without waking anybody up so he isn't too worried that he'd be questioned.

Once he makes it down the staircase he makes his way over to the sofa, where he normally works at such an early hour, only to stop in his tracks upon seeing someone lying down already, sleeping with the embers of the fire keeping them warm. The warm glow emitting just enough light to illuminate their face so Remus can see that it is the other Gryffindor prefect, Y/n L/n.

Y/n and Remus had gone on their rounds earlier and once they came back Y/n fell onto the couch with a sigh, relieved to be off her feet. He'd asked her why she wasn't going up to her room and she told him that she needed to warm up by the fire after walking through the chilly castle for so long. She kicked off her shoes, leaned forward with her arms outstretched, and started heating her hands with the, then, lively fire. She bid Remus goodnight as he headed up the stairs and he assumed that she went to bed a minute or so later.

Upon seeing her, his breath hitched. Her soft features look so calm and beautiful in the soft orange lighting that he can't help but look at her for a few seconds, debating on whether or not he should wake her or leave her be. He thinks she looks too peaceful to wake so he decides to let her be and sit on one of the few plush armchairs instead.

He gently sets his bag next to the chair and gets out his transfiguration notes, blank parchment, a quill, and some ink, then reaches over to the coffee table for a spare book left out from the bookshelf standing against one of the walls. He repositions himself into a comfortable position with his legs curled up, book leaning against his thighs with the parchment held against it and his pot of ink resting on the arm of the chair.

As soon as he gets into the position, he starts writing his essay for Professor McGonagall, the light from the fire barely enough to see, but he doesn't mind all that much. He finds this better than trying to get his work done directly after classes since the other Marauders feel the need to spend that time scheming against the Slytherins. At least now he can get some peace and quiet to get his work done. The only sounds in the room are the crackle of the fire, scratching of his quill on parchment, and Y/n's faint snoring.

Remus gets so engrossed with the work that he doesn't notice Y/n stirring awake until she fully wakes up and yawns whilst stretching her arms above her head. She looks over and sees him sitting there and she furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

"Remus?" She mumbles tiredly. He looks up and smiles softly.

"The one and only."

Y/n laughs slightly at his comment then questions, "Why are you down here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"I accidentally fell asleep before I could make my way up to my room."

He hums in understanding then answers her question. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to get some work done."

He sets his stuff down and carefully moves the ink pot from where he'd placed it and put the lid back on so it wouldn't spill.

"How come?" Y/n asks slightly concerned. She pats to the spot where her head was resting moments before as a wordless gesture for him to join her which he does so with a slight smile.